From Rohith Vemula to Una: Sights and sounds from Gujarat's massive Dalit rally

Reportedly 15,000-20,000 people attended the meeting and pledged to stop picking up cow carcasses.

Thousands assembled for the Dalit Mahasammelan held in Sabarmati, Gujarat to protest against the increasing vigilantism by Gau Rakshaks. The gathering was specially sparked by the public beating of two Dalit men in Una, Gujarat. On social media, users cited that around 15,000 to 20,000 people attended the gathering, where they pledged to completely stop picking up cow carcasses.

Some commenters on social media due to lack of minority representation in the media. As a result of this, attendees of the event resorted to social media by resorting to a form of citizen journalism: posts were doing the rounds listing what had happened, how many had attended and what was said.

Videos and images uploaded to social media that were shared widely captured the scenes at the sammelan: the mass participation, the slogans being chanted and the flags being waved. In the video below, singers Vinay Mahajan and Charul Bharwada can be heard singing one of their protest songs to loud cheers as other people in the audience also join in.

In the video below, the speakers – to loud cheers – yell out a call to action to fight atrocities committed against Dalits across the country.